


Worlds On A String (and how to swing 'em)

by Bird_Of_Scarlet



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: A lot of alternate universes, Alternate Universe, Book of Ideas, Gen, Multi, idk what I'm doing at this point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-11-05 06:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17913224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bird_Of_Scarlet/pseuds/Bird_Of_Scarlet
Summary: An introduction and guide to (some) Aus, ala Birdy.-Alternate UniverseNoun.A parallel existence in which events may unfold differently and particles are antimatter and so forth. A subset of the multiverse.Or as I call them, fun.





	1. Introduction

But Birdy, you have too many projects!! You hardly update!! You've missed a shit ton of drabble deadlines!!

Yes.

Yes, I have.

And more info for that down below buT FOR NOW AUS!!!!

Now, most of you probably know what an AU is, though what you might not know, is I have a butt ton of them.

God I think it's 20+ and counting at this point- yeah just checked and that's accurate. Oops.

Now, my procrastinating, demotivated, self-deprecating ass will probably never write for most of these AUs, but I still want to get them out there.

Why? Because I like dreaming, and creating, and imagining. So why not get some of my little worlds out where people can see them?

I stg though with school and exams and studying and general desire to die these updates will probably be fairly infrequent??? I say thst now lmao just watch me hit a peak then fall as I always do.

Anyway! I don't even know if anyone wants to see this but here I go anyway.

Each of these chapters will have a specific format, a fact file of sorts. (Also all the examples down below are mine so oops please don't hate me for that.)

 

  
X!AU - most AUs can be summed up in this format, eg. The One Life you can't Live and Afterlife Adventures belong to my Afterlife!Au (and guess what's up first?)

Title of Au - If the X!Au is the basis, this is the title. Think of it as the series name, if sorts.

Who Made It? - Some of these are specifically mine, though most of them have been influenced and aided by people like Jas (CinderScoria), Tegan (Willowcat88) and Leah (canufeelthemagictonight), just to name some. Thanks, guys! <3

How The Hell It Came To Be - think of this as the origin, because every story always has it's beginning.

Warnings - Afterlife!Au has a lot of, well, death. Etc.

Description of Au - what it says on the tin. Bag? Page? Eh.

A bit more detailed - also what's on the package, but the finer print.

Season it's from - 1, 2 or 3. Read more labels.

Main - OKAY. So this a term I use to describe the "main" character. Seems odd? Think of it this way. If the AU was a movie, who's centre of the poster? If it had to be from one POV, who's POV is it from? Get it?

Character Profiles - MORE TINS!!! Basically just rough descriptions of the Main and the other major characters in the AU. Sometimes some AUs only have a handful of characters so. They're the lil babies. Shhh.

Headcanons - Any random headcanons relating to this AU, I'll put em down. Spoiler free, of course!

Any Works? - Simple enough, have there been any stories set in this Au? These are stories I'd consider canon to the Universe, rather than things inspired by it. Though I will list those if there are any! (Or as many as I can find)

 

  
Well, let's see how this turns out...

(Also do NOT take a shot for every AU with Roila because I stg I can't drink and even I would get wasted FAST)


	2. AU - Afterlife!Au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: the _The One Life you can't Live_ is technically a riddle, 
> 
> What's the one life you can't live?  
> The Afterlife.

**Afterlife!Au**

 

**Title of Au:**

Though its most common name is just "The Afterlife AU", technically the title is " _The End Is Only The Beginning_ ", which some of you might recognise as the Title of the series that TOLycL and AA fall under.

 

**Who Made It?:**

This was my first AU (smol bby Birdy) and I'd like to say I whipped up most of it myself, though in regards to Seasons 1 & 2, I must credit Alina ( _Unoriginal_Username_ ) for the brilliant ideas she brought to the table in regards to those squads.

 

**How The Hell It Came To Be:**

So, a small Birdy, late season three, had made her AO3 account and was trying to think of something to write to make her debut. Then Ro died. So yeah, thanks Ro??????

 

**Warnings:**

Death is a major one since, hell, everyone in the main story is dead. Though Violence Warnings could appear here too.

 

**Description of Au:**

_We mourn the loss of the living, but who celebrates the lives of the dead?_

This is an Au set alongside and post-season, following the after-lives of those who didn't escape the night.

 

**A bit more detailed:**

Honestly, we lose so many brilliant characters every season, so why not explore what could've happened? At least give them room to breathe- even if they don't. This Au me a chance to develop possible relationships that might never have been seen in the show, but that might actually work. (I don't just mean Roila but that's included here and someone suggested water shots last chapter, so, stay hydrated and _DRINK_! Lmao should I yell _DRINK_ or _HYDRATE_ from now in whenever Roila in mentioned?)

 

**Season it's from:**

Technically, all of them. Though the series started out with Season Three (see _Works_ below), Seasons One & Two are being covered, and hopefully, the series will continue with the seasons to come!

 

**Main:**

This Au is one of the few that I really can't pick a main for. In TOLycL, everyone gets two POV chapters (and Nikita got one too! She lived so technically she shouldn't have gotten one but shhhh, why not?)

 

**Character Profiles:**

As mentioned before, this is an Au with too many characters to list here, but feel free to comment some of your favourite characters (or character moments) down in the comments!

 

**Headcanons:**

(Or some little fun facts about the Afterlife)

\- The three Afterlife locations (The Estate, The Mansion and Everlock) are actually very close in the abyss of post-death. The barriers that protect them from death demons, ghosts, nightmares and the like create the impression that there's nothing in the distance, like real life. If the barriers went down you could probably run between locations in a minute or less.

\- The Afterlife folks are technically just corpses with consciousness, or souls. They can't actually use most of their senses, and their systems have shut down. They can see and hear for some reason, but any taste, smell or really feel anything. Temperature is fine for touch (see the next hewdcanon) but everything else is just placebo effect. Based on their real-life experiences, if they see something that looks soft, they'll believe it'll be soft, so it feels soft. If you give them an ice cube and tell them it'll taste like chocolate, they'll "taste" chocolate, and react how they would react to that taste as if it's real. If their heart starts beating or they feel out of breath from running, it's because their brain tells them that that's how they should be, so they feel their heart racing or thst they're out of breath.

\- In TOLycL ( _Chapter 7: Home Away From Home_ ) the reason Roi's hands (and everyone else's if he had checked) were so cold is because by the "Standards if the Afterlife" Matt wasn't 100% dead. Therefore poking anyone is basically the same as poking a dead body, which I assume is pretty cold compared to our fairly toasty, living flesh. Though if there was someone there who'd been dead 50+ years or so then they'd probably have "cold hands" compared to our ETN Squad.

\- Lmao they don't actually have to use the bathroom, eat, drink, sleep or do anything needed to survive but they eat, drink and sleep anyway so.

 

**Any Works?**

_In Chronological Order, in the series-_

The Beginnings of the Ended ( _Unoriginal_Username_ ) {Seasons One & Two}

The One Life you can't Live ( _Bird_Of_Scarlet_ ) {Season Three}

Afterlife Adventures ( _Bird_Of_Scarlet_ ) {All Seasons}

  
_Other Stories inspired by this Au!_ (thanks to Leah [ _canufeelthemagictonight_ ] for helping compile this list on short notice!)

Happier Sunrise ( _NervousAliceCurious_ )

I'd Break Without You ( _hermioneg1127_ )

The Afterlife Never Ends ( _hermioneg1127_ and _Lucy112235_ )

Missing Pieces ( _Lucy112235_ )

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and questions are always welcome! I hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. AU - 70s!Au

**70s!Au**

 

**Title of Au:**

Honestly, I just call it "70s", but like the Afterlife!Au, it does have an official title, which it shares with the main story in this Au; What You Find In The Dark.

 

**Who Made It?:**

This is one of my own that I hold near and dear to my heart, though a HUGE thank you to Jas (CinderScoria) for how much they've helped me plan it out so far, along with Tegan (Willowcat88) and Leah (canufeelthemagictonight) for helpful ideas and encouragement :D

 

**How The Hell It Came To Be:**

Well, back last year when this side of the fandom was still very little, a baby Birdy came across a story called  _A Little Party Never Killed Nobody_ (which is current under the orphan_account), which was basically a Time Period 20s Au from season one, and this lil bub wanted to see more time period stuff, so guess what she started a planning...

 

**Warnings:**

There's gonna be murder! A tasteful amount of death and you bet I'm gonna give at least a semi detailed description of bodies. It's a darker au then most of the stuff I write, and themes will be tagged accordingly, along with chapter specific warnings.

 

**Description of Au:**

A story following our favourite Detective in the wake of the Carnival Slaughtering. Even if he's just brought in to clean things up, and everything seems normal again, when a body turns up, it might be the start of something a lot bigger than he originally thought.

 

**A bit more detailed:**

It's a time period au! The technically a Detective story too but idk if that's a genre. It was originally planned to but be a short thing aaaaaaand then I started planning and if the fact I've been working on it since August is any sign- with a busy school year- it's hopefully gonna be a p long one. Tbh I just hope you guys aren't bored with season three fics oop.

 

**Season it's from:**

Season three! (Lmao hopefully when s4 comes out people y'all will still want to read about these guys. Please.)

 

**Main:**

It's ya boi, MatPat! 

 

**Character Profiles:**

Now okay I know I made this section but 1. It's the entire cast 2. I have introductory drabbles planned ;) 3. Spoilers lmao one of the main themes of this Au is things not appearing as they first seem...

 

**Headcanons:**

Lmao, these are more story facts minus spoilers but:

\- Ro is the only one not living in Everlock, she's a travelogue writer, Jetsetter and a friend of Joey's who flies in for the carnival. Though, after a bit of a scare at the carnival, she ends up staying a little longer than expected. All the better to make friends!

\- Matt is our protagonist- and the story is told from his perspective. While characters like Safiya- our secondary main- feature heavily, the story told through Matt. Though I may do a one-shot or two to showcase some of the others in the s3 cast.

 - Tbh go ahead and ask any questions lmao I've been working on this for gOD knows how long.

 

**Any Works?**

This is the Au I mentioned in  _The Next Big Scoop_! {By me} and yes it's been in the works that long. Ended up being a bit more complex than a short story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I kinda left this oop.
> 
> Honestly! Even if I don't get much done, I'm gonna try crank out some more of these, if y'all are may with that. Leah and Tegan can attest to just how many Au ideas I've come up with but probably won't write and if I csn get them out HERE then hey, it'll probably be for the better.
> 
> An update from me! Exams are going well??? I have maths tomorrow lmao wish me luck. Only 6 more exams to go through though! Woop! Coming to the end.
> 
> SHOCKING but I have actuslly started the next Afterlife Adventures chapter so! That isn't dead! i stg! It's been on Hiatus since November and I'm sorry but on the bright side I'm doing way better mentally so hopefully I can overcome thst hurdle at get it published at a somewhat reasonable quality. 
> 
> Anyway! Happy S4 teaser day! Woot woot!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! 
> 
> Note for the drabbles. It took me a while to nail down a Matleen idea but I have one now that I'm pleased with so fingers crossed I find time to start that back up again soon!
> 
> Any questions or opinions welcome in the comments! 
> 
> I love you! <3


End file.
